Las Trampas or just Trampas (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: "traps"), is a small

unincorporated town An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Taos County, New Mexico Taos County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,937. Its county seat is Taos. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties in New Mexico Territory. Taos County compris ...

. Founded in 1751, its center retains the original early Spanish colonial defensive layout from that time, as well as the 18th-century San José de Gracia Church, one of the finest surviving examples of Spanish Colonial church architecture in the United States. The village center was designated a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

(the Las Trampas Historic District) in 1967.

Geography

Las Trampas is located on the scenic High Road to Taos (New Mexico State Road 76) in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. it is approximately halfway between Santa Fe to the south and

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos, Missouri, a city in Cole County, Missouri, United States * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colo ...

to the north. The town has an elevation of . The town has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, with the ZIP code 87576; the

US Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

prefers the name "Trampas". No

ZIP Code Tabulation Area ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics. These were introduced with the Census 2000 and continued with the 2010 Census and 5 year American Community ...

information for 87576 is available from Census 2000.

History

After several failed attempts, Santo Tomas Apostol del Rio de Las Trampas was founded in 1751 by 12 families from Santa Fe. It was the second

genízaro are detribalized Native Americans who, by war or payment of ransom, were taken into Hispano and Puebloan villages as indentured servants, shepherds, general laborers, etc., in Santa Fe de Nuevo México in New Spain, which is modern New Mexico, ...

settlement (after Belen) and the primary purpose of its establishment was to protect the town of Santa Cruz, southwest, from raids by the Ute, Comanche, and Apache Indians. The

s were also Indians, but detribalized and with a history of serving as slaves and servants of the Spanish colonists. They were important in the frontier defense of New Mexico. For the genízaros, relocation to Trampas and other frontier settlements was a means of acquiring land. Also among the early settlers were

Tlaxcalan Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

s, Mexican Indians who had a long history of assisting the Spanish, and

mestizos (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

. The small community consisted of little more than the central plaza, ringed by houses, which were surrounded by a low adobe wall. The village grew despite attacks from Native Americans, and by 1776 there were 63 families and 278 inhabitants recorded. The people in that year were described as "a ragged lot...as festive as they erepoor, and very merry." They spoke "local Spanish" mingled with the

Tanoan Tanoan , also Kiowa–Tanoan or Tanoan–Kiowa, is a family of languages spoken by indigenous peoples in present-day New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Most of the languages – Tiwa (Taos, Picuris, Southern Tiwa), Tewa, and Towa – ...

language of the

Taos Pueblo Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos-speaking (Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. The pueblos are considered to be one of the oldest ...

and most spoke some words of the Comanche, Ute, and Apache languages.Brooks, James F. (2002),''Captives & Cousins: Slavery, Kinship, and Community in the Southwest Borderlands,'' Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, pp 156-157 The village remained largely isolated, except for travelers on the mountain road, until the 1920s. The town is well known for the San José de Gracia Church, built between 1760 and 1776 and considered a model of the adobe colonial

Spanish missions in New Mexico The Spanish Missions in New Mexico were a series of religious outposts in the Province of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México'' — present day New Mexico. They were established by Franciscan friars under charter from the monarchs of the Spanish Empire ...

Historic district

The Las Trampas Historic Historic District, designated in 1967, encompasses the central village, whose buildings largely follow the plan originally laid out in 1751. Most of the buildings themselves date to the 19th century, often with late 19th-century alterations. The church, itself a National Historic Landmark for its architecture, is the only surviving 18th-century building. The original defensive wall that surrounded the village has been removed, and no significant traces of it remain.

Gallery

Image:Las Trampas Historic District 014.JPG, San José de Gracia Church. Image:Trampas43.jpg, Congregation leaving after mass at San José de Gracia Church (1943). File:Santa Fe Baldy 2005.jpg, View of Santa Fe Baldy, in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, from near Las Trampas. File:Catholic Church at Las Trampas (north view).JPG, Catholic Church at Las Trampas (north view)

References

External links

NPS National Historical Districts: Las Trampas Historic District webpage

Las Trampas photos
at the Library of Congress
NPS National Historical Landmarks: San José de Gracia (church) webpage

American Southwest, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
{{authority control Towns in Taos County, New Mexico Unincorporated communities in New Mexico National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico Populated places established in 1751 1751 establishments in New Spain Sangre de Cristo Mountains Spanish-American culture in New Mexico Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Taos County, New Mexico

Geography

History

Historic district

Gallery

See also

References

External links